Croatia is drafting legislation to pave the way for construction of a nuclear power plant to boost energy security and self-sufficiency, Economy Minister Ante Šušnjar said on Friday.
“All modern and sovereign countries are moving in this direction,” Šušnjar told reporters. “Without energy self-sufficiency and sovereignty, we cannot be fully sovereign in healthcare, education or industrial production.”
The bill will set up a Nuclear Energy Agency to handle site selection and technology choice, he said, adding that some potential locations had already been studied.
Šušnjar described cooperation between Croatian oil pipeline operator JANAF and Serbia’s NIS as “very good”, though noted that NIS is under U.S. sanctions due to its ownership.
He rejected Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó’s claim that JANAF cannot deliver enough oil to Hungary and Slovakia. “Those statements are inaccurate. I invite him to come and we can test the quantities JANAF can deliver,” Šušnjar said.
JANAF currently transports about two million tonnes of crude annually for Hungary’s Százhalombatta refinery. Šušnjar said output there and at Slovakia’s Bratislava refinery totals about 13 million tonnes, and Croatia can guarantee delivery of up to 15 million tonnes.
“The benefits of Russian oil go exclusively to the Hungarians, who are exploiting Russia’s aggression against Ukraine to buy oil at lower prices, process it, and make huge profits,” he said.